The Distress League
by Wizard In The Blue Box
Summary: We've all heard the stories of the damsels in distress, but what you didn't know is that all those stories were wrong. You see, the Damsels didn't want to wait to be saved by princes and "true loves", they wanted to save themselves, so they formed an organization to save each other. Welcome to the Distress League. series of one-shots
1. Prologue 1

Prologue Part 1

The finely dressed man leaped off his white steed mid-gallop, and went to kneel at the bottom of a tall tower. He cleared his throat and ran a gloved over his luxurious blonde hair.

"Rapunzel, my dear, sweet Rapunzel," He called up to the single tower window, his voice deep and charismatic. "Let down your hair!"

A thick lock of long braided golden hair fell from the window, reaching all the way to the ground. The man smirked to himself and latched onto the hair, pulling himself up to the very top. As he clambered through the window, he brushed himself off and looked up to his lovely princess.

Except she wasn't there.

The lock of hair was tied tightly to the window sill, its owner nowhere in sight.

Instead, a magnificent falcon sat upon a bedpost, ruffling its feathers smugly. It released a loud screech and took off through the window.

The man, who was more boy than man, searched the room for any sign of the girl he knew to live there. A soft glint from the corner of the room attracted his attention, and he walked over to investigate.

There, written on the floor in methodically placed strands of hair, was a message.

_Too late! – The Damsel_

The man let out a furious roar and ran to the window, only to witness his "loyal" white stallion riding off, a short-haired woman upon its saddle.

DL~DL~DL~DL~DL~DL

The young woman burst through the door, her blonde hair floating around her shoulders in disarray. "Sorry I'm late! That idiot prince showed up later than expected." She rushed to explain as several heads snapped up at her entrance. Many of them sighed in relief when they saw her.

A golden-haired girl in blue stood up with a grin. "Just in time, Zel. C'mon, we saved you a seat." She nodded towards an empty chair at the head of the table.

Rapunzel smiled and sat down, nodding at each of the women already seated. "Thank you Ella. Am I the last one, then?" She asked.

Cinderella nodded. The dark-haired girl beside Zel leaned over and whispered, "A little birdy told me that you left a message written in hair." She chuckled. "You went for the theatrics, I see."

"Always, Snow." Zel winked.

Ella cleared her throat. "Well, I guess we can start now. If you didn't already know, my name is Cinderella. This is Aurora," She gestured to yet another blonde girl beside her. "more commonly known as Sleeping Beauty. The girl that just came in was Rapunzel, and beside her is Snow White. One month ago, the four of us met under Zel's tower. You see, each of us has one thing in common. Each of us was a girl in need, a girl that needed to be saved.i

"Now, we knew that we weren't the only so-called 'Damsels in Distress' in the world, waiting for a prince to save us. So, we decided that we were done waiting. Why should we leave our fates up to someone else? We're just as capable of saving ourselves as any man, so why should we let them do it for us?

"That brings us to where we are now. It is time that the Damsels became their own heroes. Our goal is to save the girls that are trapped in their own fairytale with no other way out. We propose a new beginning: a new sisterhood. A group of people to save and inspire each other."

"So what do you say?" Zel spoke up. "Who will help us? Who will help all those girls? Because as far as I can see, none of you are at all very happy with your stories. None of our men see us as anything but tools to their own usage, a way to fluff up their reputations. I know that's all I was."

Several of the girls looked convinced, but many still looked undecided.

"Think about this very carefully, girls." Aurora spoke for the very first time. "This is more than just a little adventure. This is a revolution. Sooner or later you will have to pick a side. The so-called princes who saved you once and never looked at you twice, the men who treat you as though you are no brighter than a lightning bug, or us. We, the only ones who could ever understand; The only ones who can change our stories."

"If you are unsure, or if you refuse, then you may leave." Snow said quietly. "All we ask is that none of this reaches the ears of any who may oppose. Leave now."

Nobody moved. Every single girl looked to the four heads with determination in their eyes.

Ella smiled. "Alright, then. Welcome, Damsels, to the Distress League."


	2. Prologue 2

Prologue Part 2

4oo Years Later

"Hello, welcome to the Mother Goose Café. I'm Eden and I'll be your server for this evening. Can I get you guys something to drink?" Eden asked the couple politely, a notepad in one hand and a pen poised in the other.

Both the tourists thought for a moment, but ended up with just water as their choice. Not "water". They wanted "Just Water".

Eden nodded and was about to leave, but the woman stopped her. "I'm curious," she started. "The sign outside said that this place was established in 1610? It must be a mistake."

Eden smiled as if she'd heard this question before (and she had). "No, ma'am. It's true. The Mother Goose Café was originally called the Damsels' Pub, and the original site was in England. It was started by a rather large group of girls, no older than myself I'd reckon. They were supposedly the girls from all the fairytales. Y'know, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow white and all, and even from the ones that weren't as well known, like the Goose Girl and the girl from the Frog Prince tale. They were tired of being expected to wait for a man to save them, so they came together and helped each other do it instead.

"That's just a story though. It's why we called this place the Mother Goose Café, and why we do the daily storytelling. In reality they were just a group of orphan girls that wanted to do more with their lives than, well, nothing." Eden smiled, as if she had just told a big secret. This of course wasn't true. Everyone knew the story of the Distress League, but only a handful knows just how truthful it is.

"What's the storytelling?" The man inquired, his attention already entrapped in the four hundred year old legend.

"Well, we started it not too long after we opened the Café in this town. Basically, once a day we host a storytelling in the lounge in the back, where we give the children milk and cookies and tell them a fairytale. It could be a popular one, or a not-so-popular one, but they all have one thing in common. In each of them, the damsel in distress is the one who gets herself out of a sticky situation, with or without help. It turned into somewhat of a tradition, and now every Saturday morning, families from all around town come and bring food and settle down together for a storytelling, and turn in story suggestions to the box over there."

Eden nodded to a corner where a pale purple box sat, a slit cut into the top.

"Oh," The woman said. "George, we should go to that!" He nodded almost immediately, and Eden had to stifle a laugh.

"You should! Everyone's welcome. I'll be back with your drinks." Eden grinned once more and walked swiftly to the kitchens.

The Mother Goose Café was a small place, but the girls had fit in as many tables as possible. It was quaint. There was really no other word for it. The lighting was regular enough. The real things to look at were the walls. Hundreds of pictures were nailed up all over the place. Girls of every race, size, shape, and background littered the place, staring out from just about every surface, and behind the counter was one huge painting, of about thirty or so (thirty-two to be exact) girls. It was an oil portrait of the original group of Damsels. The first Distress League.

Yes, the stories were true. The girls that work and worked at the Café all knew the truth, written down in the journals that were kept in the house next to the Café, where all the girls lived. They were the true stories, about the main characters of the tales, written by the girls themselves as a way to keep the truth alive in the years to come.

This was where the girls got the stories for the daily telling. When they got the fairytale suggestions, they'd choose one, find the girl's journal, and tell that story to the group of townspeople and assorted tourists. They were getting the full story, and hopefully passing it on, without realizing.

Of course, they had to tell everyone that original Distress League was just a group of orphan girls. After all, who would want to eat in a place run by crazies? No one would believe them, even with the journals as proof. No, they had to keep the journals a secret. Even today, the original members' "knights in shining armor" had people trying to destroy all proof of the true stories.

The current members of the Distress League were the girls from bad backgrounds. They live in all corners of the Earth, living their lives normally, while also looking out for a girl who may be trapped by her birth.

So, the Distress League finds these girls, does whatever they can to bring them to the Café, and works as hard as possible to give them the education and opportunities they are denied as women.

The Distress League has given the world some of the most ambitious and kind women in history. Politicians, doctors, lawyers, philanthropists, and so many other people working towards justice and peace all came from the Distress League. And each one left behind a journal, full of the memories and their story. Their true Fairytale.

Since the League has connections everywhere, they have no problems with taking in so many girls. With the Café paying most of their bills, and with generous donations made by old members, the League can continue to work with young girls for a long time.


End file.
